Terps Bound for Pivotal Series in South Bend

Maryland Athletics

4-25-2014

The Maryland softball team is bound for South Bend, Ind. this weekend as it looks to keep its ACC Tournament hopes alive with a critical three-game series against No. 21 Notre Dame. The Terps will play a pair of games on Sunday, before appearing nationally on ESPNU Monday. For live updates, log on to https://twitter.com/#!/TerpsSoftball.

• The Terrapins took a pair of midweek games from visiting Howard by a cumulative score of 25-4, and have won five of their last seven games. Four Maryland players are hitting better than .400 during that seven-game span.

• Junior Shannon Bustillos continues to carry the Terps offensively, batting .455 with 10 RBIs, nine runs and a pair of homers over her last seven games. Freshman Kylie Datil has also performed well during that span, batting .450 with two home runs and a .522 OBP.

• Junior Kaitlyn Schmeiser had another strong outing against Howard, and has posted a 1.84 ERA over her last seven games with three victories. The Terrapin pitching staff has allowed just 18 earned runs over its last 45.0 innings.

• Head coach Laura Watten is just one win away from the 600-win plateau for her career.

Scouting #21 Notre Dame (31-10, 10-5 ACC) • Currently ranked second in the ACC, Notre Dame has won five of its last six contests. The lone loss came in the second game of a doubleheader Tuesday against NC State, 6-2.

• The Irish are one of the best hitting teams in the country, ranking first in the nation in doubles (2.11/g) and second nationally in batting average (.355). Freshman Karley Wester leads the team with a spectacular .459 average through 41 games, while Micaela Arizmendi has 43 RBIs and 11 home runs.

• Senior Laura Winter leads the Notre Dame pitching staff with a 20-4 record and a 2.26 ERA. Winter has posted six shutouts and 19 complete games, totaling 197 strikeouts. The entire pitching staff has a cumulative ERA of 2.57.

• Maryland is 0-5 all-time against Nore Dame in a series dating back to 1999, including a 5-3 loss last season. The Terps held a 3-2 advantage through four innings, but the Irish scored three in the sixth to take the victory. Juli Strange was 1-for-3 with a run, while Kaitlyn Schmeiser allowed just two earned runs in 4.0 innings.

Media Information • Email Straight To You: If you would like the latest Maryland softball news emailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, email softball contact Sean Ellenby with "Softball E-Mail" as the subject and you will receive every update.

• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.

• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2014 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.